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Imani sank into Keisha's couch, pulling her knees up as Keisha handed her a cup of tea. The familiar warmth of her friend's apartment felt like a balm, though it didn't do much to calm the storm of emotions swirling inside her. Keisha sat down across from her, her eyes steady and focused, like she had been preparing for this conversation.
"So," Keisha started, leaning back in her chair, "you gonna tell me what happened? Or do I have to drag it out of you?"
Imani let out a long, shaky breath, staring into her tea. "It's just... everything's a mess, Kei. Jobe's gone. He walked away, and I don't even blame him. I screwed things up. And now..." She paused, trying to steady herself, but the words came out in a rush. "And now Jude won't stop calling, and I don't know how to deal with any of this."
Keisha took a deep breath, not saying anything right away. She had always been good at listening, at letting Imani talk herself into the truth. Finally, she sighed and shook her head. "Jobe was bound to walk away, Imani. He was holding on too long, you were dragging him through too much, and you know it. That whole thing was on borrowed time."
Imani winced at the bluntness of Keisha's words, but she knew she was right. Deep down, she had known it for a while. The look in Jobe's eyes this morning hadn't been anger. It had been exhaustion, the kind that came when someone had given up trying to fix something broken.
"What am I supposed to do now?" Imani's voice trembled, the question hanging in the air like a plea. "I feel like I've lost everything."
Keisha arched an eyebrow. "Lost everything? Girl, you haven't lost yourself. And that's the part you need to get together." She leaned forward, her tone softening but staying firm. "You've got work. You've got me. And as for Jude..."
Imani's stomach twisted at the mention of his name. She hadn't thought about how messy things were about to get with him still lurking in the background. He wasn't just some mistake she could walk away from—he was a part of her life, especially at work.
"What about him?" Imani asked, her voice tight.
"You're gonna have to talk to him." Keisha's words were simple, but they hit Imani like a punch to the gut. "You work with the guy, Imani. You can't just avoid him forever. You know you'll see him every day. You need to set things straight."
Imani closed her eyes, the reality sinking in. She hadn't even considered what it would be like to see Jude at the stadium—being in the same press conferences, walking through the same corridors. The very thought made her skin crawl.
"I don't know if I can," she whispered. "It's too much. I can barely look at him without thinking about how everything got so screwed up."
Keisha leaned forward, placing a hand on Imani's knee. "I get that. But you're gonna have to deal with it, for your own sake. You can't run from it forever. Go in, have a conversation. Tell him where you stand, make it clear you're done with whatever it was between you two. You need closure, Imani."
Imani nodded slowly, though the thought of talking to Jude felt like the last thing she was ready for. The guilt and shame weighed heavily on her chest. How could she face him and end things when she had only been drunk and desperate, begging for a kiss she never truly wanted and knew he wasn't interested in either?
"And," Keisha continued, her voice gentler now, "you need to focus on you. Forget all this drama for a second and just look at yourself. You've been tangled up in other people's messes for too long—Jobe, Jude, everything. When was the last time you thought about what you wanted, where you want to be?"
Imani bit her lip, unsure how to respond. When had she last thought about herself? Her own goals? Her work? It all felt so far away, like she had been living someone else's life, getting lost in their problems. Her job at the firm was something she had worked so hard for, but lately, it had felt like a burden—just another thing she was failing at.
"I don't even know where to start," she admitted. "Everything feels so... far away."
Keisha's expression softened, her hand still resting on Imani's knee, grounding her. "You start by remembering who the hell you are. You're Imani. You've always been strong, even when you don't see it. I know work's been tough lately, but you need to focus there. Not just to distract yourself but because that's where your future is, girl. You're good at what you do, and you've gotta stop letting these guys drag you down."
Imani blinked, a faint spark of hope flickering in her chest. Keisha was right. She had been so wrapped up in her personal chaos that she had let everything else slip. She had stopped caring about her work, about her own growth. She had been in survival mode for so long, just trying to keep her head above water.
"And look," Keisha added, her voice taking on a softer, almost teasing tone, "when you focus on yourself, when you actually start getting your life together... maybe, just maybe, someone will come along who actually deserves you. But right now? You need to be single, Imani before you even think about letting someone else in."
Imani let out a small, shaky laugh. "Yeah, well, I don't think I'm exactly relationship material at the moment."
Keisha smiled, giving her a playful nudge. "That's what I'm saying. Focus on you. Get your work in line, find your balance. And when you're ready, you'll know. You don't need to be looking for someone, Imani. The right person will come when you've got yourself together. Right now, though? You need to rebuild."
The words hung between them, and for the first time in what felt like forever, Imani felt something other than despair. She felt possibility, the idea that maybe there was a future beyond this mess she had made. It wasn't going to be easy—dealing with Jude, accepting that Jobe was really gone—but there was more out there for her. More than just pain and regret.
Imani leaned back into the couch, feeling the weight of Keisha's words settle into her. It wasn't a fix-all solution, but it was a start.
"Thanks, Kei," she whispered, her voice heavy with gratitude. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
Keisha gave her a wink. "Good thing you'll never have to find out."
Imani laughed lightly, and for the first time in a long time, it felt real.
As they sat in comfortable silence, the heaviness in Imani's chest began to lift just a little. She wasn't out of the woods yet, but she had a direction now, a path forward. She could handle work. She could handle Jude. And as for everything else... maybe, in time, she'd figure that out too.
